Do you want to know what the fiscal fight is really about?
This is a non-partisan article about what the fiscal cliff fight is really about. It is a philosophical battle, but if you read the newspapers, and watch TV news, you will not get this story. Believe you me, I have watched and read many commentaries and opinions about this, but no one has yet to [...]
A Primer on Recession Indicators: Gross Domestic Product and Unemployment
Unemployment statistics are an important indicator of how our economy is doing; more people employed points to stronger business growth and to fewer people receiving government entitlements. However, this is a little difficult to track, since the government doesn’t really publish a combined [...]
Save Big on Hanes
Average quality, 100% cotton underwear seems to have really gotten expensive the last few years. While shopping for just basic plain white T-shirts we were amazed that a packet of 5 costs $34 at Sears and Kohls. Sometimes you can find where they are throwing in a extra shirt or briefs so you get 6 [...]
The Low Hormone Rip-Off
Radio and Television is awash with silly advertisements aimed at anyone in their 40′s or older, to get you to buy supplements to counter the affect of lower hormones as we age. The ads ask if you are fatigued, depressed, low sex drive, gaining weight or generally have a feeling of malaise. These [...]
2013 IRA and Retirement Plan Contribution Limits
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently published the new rules for contributions into retirement plans and IRAs for 2013. Some of these numbers have increased, and are good for you to know if you participate in IRAs (individual retirement accounts) or retirement plans like 401(k)s, sponsored [...]
Should You Buy Gold?
The most commonly asked question I get is, should I buy gold or some other precious metal like silver or platinum? The main reasons for driving interest in gold, are advertisements, the increased price of gold, and fear.
There are a lot of commercials on TV and the radio, from companies that want [...]
Costco Cost Savings and Warnings
Big Box retailers like Sam’s Club and Costco can sometimes save you a lot of money, but if you aren’t careful you can end up spending more money than you planned to. I suspect most people do go over budget at these places.
We are avid coupon clippers and deal shoppers, and often our receipt from [...]
Can You Buy Life Insurance and Forget It?
Most people buy life insurance and seldom review it later. Here are 7 compelling reasons why a life insurance review is a great idea.
Price: If you own term insurance, you may want to check to see if you can buy a new policy for a lower overall cost.
Length: If you purchased a level premium term [...]
Layering Term Life Insurance, To Minimize Cost & Extend Coverage
Previously I wrote on reviewing your life insurance policies, today I describe a way to layer term life insurance to provide affordable life insurance protection for longer periods of time.
As a review the most common forms of term life insurance are level term, and annually renewable term, both [...]
Weekending Financial Scorecard
Here’s the most important financial data that you need to know to be fairly well informed, or at least sound that way at the Holiday cocktail party. Each Friday evening I post the data of 8 financial market’s, and 10 economic indicator’s weekending scorecard. As of 11/30/12
What the heck happened [...]
The US Economy Growing (GDP) at Good Rate, Is It Enough?
The Commerce Department announced Thursday that the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.7%, for the third quarter. Is it time to celebrate that the economic recovery has arrived?
GDP tracks the size of our economy by calculating the total dollar value of all goods [...]
Budgeting For Extra Charitable Donations
Here is a cool idea, consider adding a new category to your monthly budget for ‘special giving.’ While doing some budget planning with the program we use; YNAB, or You Need a Budget, I noticed for some months throughout the year, we gave to various causes. This was in addition to our regular [...]
How to Deal With Perceived Employment Age Discrimination
Is your age in the 50′s or 60′s, and you are looking for a new full-time or part-time job? Do you think you are unlikely to get hired because you are too old? Do you feel age discrimination is really big, and is a barrier when you go to an interview? Job applicants must learn how to deal with this [...]
Important Financial Information for the Week Ending 11/23/12
A lot of financial data and information is tossed around in the news, however mostly its confusing so it is ignored. To help you be more MoneyEducated, each Friday I post information that I find most helpful to personal finances. I have been doing this for a year, and this has gone from just stock [...]
Should I Buy an Ereader? And The Benefits of Waiting
I love to read, so a few weeks ago I had a burning desire to purchase an Ereader. I had a lot of reasons for purchasing one, and came up with a great list of my rationale:
Ease of getting a book and reading it without the delay of going to the bookstore or library
Ability to look up words in the [...]
Tax Planning: In Uncertain “Fiscal Cliff” Times & Year End Tax Planning
Kevin Koval, CPA, ABV, CFP and Roger C. Nagel, CPA, CMA of Nagel, CPAs*
With the completion of the presidential elections there has been much discussion focused on the so-called “fiscal cliff”. Many economic forecasts have stated that President Obama and Congress need to reach some agreement to [...]
Important Financial Information for the Week Ending 11/16/12
A lot of financial data and information is tossed around in the news, however mostly its confusing so people ignore it. To help you be more MoneyEducated, each Friday I post information that I find most helpful to personal finances. I have been doing this for a year, and this has gone from just [...]
Time to Check Your Car’s Battery
Fall always seems to be the best time for me check my car’s battery. You might want to also, if you don’t want to get stuck somewhere without a good battery. This is especially true for folks driving through not-so-safe neighborhoods now that it is getting dark much earlier, or up north in our [...]
Financial Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving only one week away, I thought it would be good to have a financial Thanksgiving post;
The attitude of being thankful is one of the foundational feelings we can have for helping us do well financially. When we are thankful for the things we have, we are content and are not in the [...]
Annuity Guarantees and Trusting Insurance Companies
Hartford Financial is seeking ways to lower its exposure on some annuity contracts it sold. Stories like this make people wonder if they can trust insurance companies, and believe the annuity guarantees. I believe though, most insurance companies are very trustworthy, and the income guarantees are [...]
Important Financial Information for the Week Ending 11/9/12
A lot of financial data and information is tossed around in the news, however most people find it confusing. Therefore each Friday I post information that I find most helpful to personal finances. One year ago this week I started doing this with just stock market and mortgage rates. This weekly [...]
14 Ways to Save Gas
Gasoline prices have trickled down in the last few weeks, however they are still about double what they were 4 years ago, making it important to get the most mileage out of each gallon of gas as possible. Some of these tips come from “20 ways to save gas this summer“ Popular Mechanics 7/2012 [...]
Do We Appreciate Businesses Enough?
The presidential campaign had me wondering which presidential candidate would have been the most pro-business. Investors in business might not think Obama is great for business, when you consider the 313 point drop in the DOW yesterday. Let me say at the outset that I am not taking political sides [...]
Hyundai and Kia Overstated Gas Mileage Refund
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that Hyundai and Kia overstated gas mileage ratings for over 900,000 autos sold since late 2010 and into 2012. You may recall their commercials advertising a lot of 40 mpg models. The South Korean company’s explanation for the erroneous estimate [...]
How to Drop Expensive PMI from Mortgage
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Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is expensive insurance that protects the lender if you foreclose, not you but you have to pay for it. It is required if you put less than 20% down when you purchase a new home, unless you can prove that your total equity is equal to or exceeds 20% (22% [...]
October Unemployment Numbers Announced
Unemployment, New Jobs, and Jobless Claims Statistics:*
Negative: Unemployment INCREASED in October to 7.9% from 7.8% in September: September’s was the lowest rate since January 2009, and was good improvement over August’s 8.1%, so this shows things are really remaining about the same. However, [...]
14 Sources of Funding College and Calculators
College costs are going through the roof! You’ve seen the headlines. How are you going to pay for college, and what is going to cost you or your kids? A 4-year college costs on average $21,447 for in-state public and $42,224 for private per year for tuition, room, and board. That’s a total of [...]
How to Withdraw Needed Funds from an Inactive 401(k)
Question: I lost my job several months ago, and have exhausted my savings. However, I have some money in a 401(k) Plan from an old employer. I need to get to some of it to pay my rent, but I don’t want to pay tax on the entire amount in the Plan. What is the best way for me to get to a portion of [...]
What is GDP, and What is it Trending in the 3rd Quarter?
You probably hear about GDP on the evening business news all the time, but do you wonder what it means and what it indicates about our current economy?
GDP stands for gross domestic product, and represents the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States, and is [...]
Are We Headed for a Double Dip Recession in 2013?
Do you think we are headed for a double-dip recession in 2013? Technically a recession occurs when business cycles retract, evidenced by down consecutive quarters of GDP, or a 12 month 1.5% or more rise in unemployment. The most recent recession officially started December 2007 and ended June of [...]
